The enduring folly of presidential impeachments

Why will no one ever learn it doesn't work?

Presidents.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Wikimedia Commons, Bubball/iStock)

Like all 4-year-olds, my oldest is always changing her mind about things — which planet is the best, where to bury the treasure in the backyard, whether worms are yucky. Just yesterday she told me that her new favorite tape is Schoolhouse Rock. This is a welcome development. With apologies to Ariel and Sebastian, I would rather hear "I'm Just a Bill" 187 times a day than listen to "Kiss the Girl" even once more.

Why is there no "Impeachment Blues," I wonder? The way that it is discussed in American media these days one could be forgiven for having the impression that the impeachment of presidents — and Supreme Court justices — is an ordinary feature of American public life, comparable to, say, shifting control of the House. But it is nothing of the kind. Impeachment is a legal aberration.

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.